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Katnip
Katnip (sometimes spelled KatNip) was the first featherweight of Cold Fusion Team, although created by Team Kat at the time. It fought and lost in the featherweight competition of Extreme 2 of Robot Wars. Katnip had been created long before its driver, Stuart Barnwell, had had anything to do with Cold Fusion Team, following a competition by Rex Garrod called Rex's Robot Challenge in the magazine Real Robots. Design Katnip was a small two-wheeled box shaped robot with hardened steel pincers. The original version was made from wood with plastic pincers. When Stuart Barnwell met Alan Gribble, Gribble constructed metal pincers instead, as the plastic pincers were not strong enough. Gribble also helped Barnwell convert his machine into metal, in order to bring it up to fighting form. Katnip was the first featherweight to use titanium, and was often used in live shows for children to play and practise with. Robot History Extreme 2 In the heats, which were not shown in full, Katnip fought AM CVn, Argh!, Bernard, Gi-Ant-O, Eddy Evolution and Neoteric. Katnip drove at the side of Bernard in the opening stages and managed to lift its pincers onto its opponent's wedge, but Bernard pushed past and Katnip slid over. As Eddy Evolution lurked near the opened pit, Katnip got behind it and tried to push it down the pit. Eddy Evolution pushed back and Katnip reversed away, but Eddy Evolution then lost control and span into the pit. Katnip then took on AM CVn, which had stopped moving, but Katnip struggled to get hold of it. It then briefly attacked Gi-Ant-O, who by this point had broken down and was later dropped out of the arena by Sir Killalot. Neoteric also broke down after pressure from Katnip, Argh! and Bernard, with Katnip ramming head-on into the struggling walker before Sgt. Bash separated them. Katnip later attacked Argh! from behind near the centre of the arena, slipping its pincer behind the wheel, before bumping into Bernard just as cease was called, and Katnip went through to the final with Argh! and Bernard. In the final, Katnip fought Cutlet, Gladiator, Micro-Mute as well as Argh! and Bernard. Katnip chased after Gladiator immediately, but turned away as Gladiator opened the pit. Gladiator then pushed Katnip into Argh!, but Argh! drove away, allowing Katnip to escape. As Argh! used its disc on Gladiator, Katnip tried to get at the side of Gladiator to attack, only for Micro-Mute to charge in, getting under Katnip and Gladiator and pushing them up the arena together. Both robots slipped off Micro-Mute, and Katnip went after Gladiator again, grabbing the front lifter. Katnip let it go, turned around for another attack, and drove at Gladiator's side. After Gladiator reversed away, Katnip changed targets, aiming for Micro-Mute, which was spinning on the spot. However, this proved to be a fatal mistake, as the spinning front of Micro-Mute ripped off one of Katnip's wheels, leaving it spinning in circles. Argh! then got under Katnip using its wedge, bashing its pincers slightly with its vertical spinner. Katnip earned a brief respite as Argh! missed its next shove, but it was soon shoved again, this time towards the pit. Argh!'s initial push forced Katnip's wheel over the pit, leaving it stranded, and the next nudge tipped Katnip into the pit at last. This made it the first to fall in the Featherweight Final. Results |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 1 *Losses: 1 Series Record NOTE: This record only reflects the attendance of the Barnwell family, and does not include the performance of Cold Fusion Team Outside Robot Wars Katnip continued to take part in featherweight battles on the live circuit between its creation in 2002, and its retirement in 2007. After retiring from competitive battles, Katnip was scrapped by the team. Pussycat and Kitty (the team's other two entrants to Robot Wars) are also retired, but have since moved on to new teams. External Links *Katnip on the Team Kat website Category:Featherweights Category:Robots from Gloucestershire Category:UK Series competitors Category:Robots with Horizontal Crushers Category:Invertible Robots Category:Robots with an equal amount of Wins and Losses Category:Robots which debuted in Extreme 2 Category:Robots which only fought in Extreme 2 Category:Robots based on cats Category:Animal Based Robots